TEMPERATURES plunged to minus 8.2C last night with a chance of snow across Dorset later today.

A yellow weather warning for snow and ice has been issued by the Met Office from 1pm today until 9pm on Friday.

The warning covers Bournemouth, Poole and the rest of Dorset.

The Met Office says between 1 and 3cm is "likely" in places within the warning area with potential for as much as 5 to 10cm in southwest England.

A spokesperson said: "Areas of rain and snow are expected to move into the UK from the southwest from Thursday and through Friday. Any single period of rain and snow is not expected to last more than 6 to 9 hours but some snow accumulations are likely with 1-3 cm likely in places within the warning area and the potential for 5-10 cm, perhaps particularly over Wales and southwest England.

"Snow amounts will vary markedly across England and Wales with many places seeing very little accumulating snow. With cold air in place along with areas of rain and snow icy stretches are likely to form."

Bournemouth Echo:

Local forecaster Dorset Snow said: "Rain is likely to move in late afternoon and turn readily to snow into the evening, snow is expected to be heavy and could bring accumulations of up to 7cm in the Bournemouth area. Coastal areas in the west are more likely to see a mix of sleet and wet snow and therefore may not see accumulations.

"We are expected to get a constant supply of snow showers after midnight coming in off the channel and these could add to any lying snow. Tomorrow is cold with highs of just 3c and a patchy snow risk."

He added: "There has been massive disagreement from the models on this event and there is still a small chance it could be more of a rain event, although this looks increasingly unlikely."

UK Extreme Weather said: "Today from mid afternoon as a band of rain pushes up from the South West and meets the cold air in place over the UK, it is likely to change to snow. For Dorset, right on the coasts might see a longer period of rain before seeing snow, which could limit snow accumulations, but you won’t have to travel far inland to see anywhere between 3-7cm’s of snow laying.

"The timing of this is of most concern as it will coincide with rush hour. So advice would be to keep an eye on the forecast and perhaps have a plan in place should the snow arrive."

Dorset County Council said it has 25 gritting vehicles and 100 staff on standby for "continuous runs" over the next 48 hours.

Vehicles will also be fitted with ploughs for snow clearance later today.

Yesterday many parts of Dorset briefly saw snow with East Dorset and North Dorset waking to a light covering.

More follows.